Key Number:	HS 59475
Site Name:	McLeod Block
Other Names:	McLeod Building
Site Type:	0401 - Mercantile/Commercial: Office or Administration Building

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			52	24	4

Address:	10132-10136 - 100 Street NW
Number:	32-36
Street:	100 NW
Avenue:	101 NW
Other:
Town:	Edmonton
Near Town:

Media

Type	Number	Date	View	Source

Architectural

Style:	Classical Revival
Plan Shape:	L
Storeys:	Storeys: 4 or more
Foundation:	Basement/Foundation Wall Material: Concrete
Superstructure:	Brick
Superstructure Cover:
Roof Structure:	Flat
Roof Cover:
Exterior Codes:	Massing of Units: Single Detached Wings: Unknown Wall Design and Detail: None Roof Trim - Eaves: Decorated Fascia Roof Trim Material - Eaves: Unknown Roof Trim - Verges: Not Applicable Roof Trim Material - Verges: Unknown Towers, Steeples and Domes: None Dormer Type: None Chimney Location - Side to Side: Unknown Roof Trim - Special Features: None Window - Structural Opening Shape: Flat Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Head: Plain Flat Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Material: Wood Window - Sill Type: Plain Slip Sill Window - Sill Material: Wood Window - Trim Within Structural Opening - Head: Plain Window - Trim Within Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Window - Number of Sashes: One Window - Opening Mechanism: Single or Double Hung Window - Special Types: None Window - Pane Arrangements: 2 over 2 Main Entrance - Location: Centre (Facade) Main Entrance - Structural Opening Shape: Flat Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Head: Plain Flat Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening Material: Wood Main Entrance - Trim Within Structural Opening - Head: Plain Main Entrance - Trim Within Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Main Entrance - Number of Leaves: 1 Main Entrance - Number of Panels Per Leaf: 1 Main Entrance - Leaves - Special Feature: Glass Main Stairs - Location and Design: None Main Porch - Type: Closed Porch Main Porch - Special Features: None Main Porch - Material: Concrete Main Porch - Height: First Storey
Exterior:	Wall design plinths. Quions, Entablature decorative panelling three part elevation, projecting corners, flat arch lintels, moulded string courses, cornice brackets and metopes: Balconet over the entry. Terra cotta cornice; double hung wooden sash windows keystones; terra cotta storefront; cornice with name of building; north side above storefront cornice-inscription 'John K. Dow Architect 1913'. The McLeod Building is regarded as Alberta's best remaining example of an architectural style for commercial buildings known as the 'Chicago School'. Chicago School features include the massing and stressed verticality, heavy overhanging cornice, the use of terra cotta on the exterior (rare in Edmonton and Alberta), and the three-part division into ground storey, intermediate floors, and top floor with cornice. Despite this modernity, many details, such as the balconet over the entry, window keystones coloured tiles, entablature with heavy modillions, and ante-fixae along the cornice edge, reflect Edwardian classicism. The McLeod Building is a nine-storey steel and brick building constructed in the Sullivanesque style, though its detailling reflects Edwardian classicism. The building is clad in buff terra-cotta with coloured terra-cotta tiles decorating the cornice. Sullivanesque features of the building are its massing and stressed verticality, heavy overhanging cornice, use of terra-cotta, and three-part division into ground storey, intermediate floors and top floor with cornice, a style common to early 20th-century office buildings. Detail features in the Edwardian classical style can be seen in the balconet over the entry, window keystones, coloured tiles, and entablature with heavy modillions.
Interior:	Main entrance finished in Italian Pavanosse marble; corridors floored in marble and wainscoted in marble; heated with high pressure steam & piped for gas lighting. The interior of the McLeod Building was made of the finest marble and wood. The floors of the coridor were set with marble, and the office floors were laid with terrazzo on concrete slabs, resembling mosaic. Italian Pavanosse marble was used in the main entrance and the wainscoting of corridor walls. Doors, doorjambs, windows and baseboards were made from solid oak. The building was heated with high pressure steam, and was piped for gas lighting.
Environment:	Neighbourhood: Downtown Was the tallest building in Edmonton for almost 40 years it was surpassed by the 16 storey addition to MacDonald Hotel in 1953, and was the largest reinforces concrete building in Alberta. Downtown core; corner location. The McLeod Building, as the tallest office building in Edmonton for forty years, has always been a prominent landmark for Edmontonians. Its corner location opposite the Library Plaza and the Westin's clocktower plaza has increased its visual importance to the cityscape. Although it needs a thorough cleaning, its ivory terra cota and glazed brick, and also the polychrome tiles at the cornice, enhance its attractiveness. Its future restoration by the Province with retail activity at grade will make it a welcome asset to the Rice-Howard Mall.
Condition:	Good
Alterations:	Storefronts replaced with metal elements.

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Construction Started Construction Ended	1913/01/01 1915/01/01
Usage:	Usage Date:
Office Office	1913/01/01 1978/11/01
Owner:	Owner Date:
A.M. Nanton Chas Murray Methodist Church Alice C. Hutton Kenneth A. McLeod Kenneth McLeod McLeod Building Ltd. City Savings and Trust John Goldberg Westbrook Estates Ltd. Juniper Development and Supply Co. Ltd.	1892/12/06 1893/03/20 1899/03/15 1903/10/10 1905/11/23 1915/03/05 1929/09/07 1963/03/06 1968/01/12 1969/04/02 1995/01/01

Architect:	John K. Dow
Builder:	Olsen & Johnson
Craftsman:	N/A
History:	Kenneth A. McLeod a prominent entrepreneur in early Edmonton. He arrived in Edmonton in 1881 1892 December 6 Owner: A.M. Manton 1969 April 2 Owner: Westbrook Estates Limited. 1974, Present Owners: Oxford Developments Limited 1985: Architect Mickey Holland Commissioned by the province to plan renovations. Threatened with demolition in 1978 The building was a duplicate of the Polson Building in Spokane, Washington, designed by the same architect, and built by the same contractors. Spokane Contractors, Olsen and Johnson built at a cost of $600,000.00 The McLeod building completed in January 1915 was financed by Kenny McLeod, an early resident of Edmonton. For forty years, the McLeod building was the tallest in Edmonton. ***** This building was built by K.A. McLeod. It was completed in 1915 at a cost of $600,000. The building was a duplicate of the Polson Building in Sopkane, Wash., which was designed by the same architect, J.K. Dow. Mr. McLeod also hired Spokane Contractors, Olsen and Johnson (same as the Polson Building) and as construction was proceeding he made various changes and improvements to the original design. The nine storey McLeod Building was for almost 40 years the tallest building in Edmonton, it was surpassed by the 16 storey addition to the MacDonald Hotel in 1953. *** The McLeod Block became an instant Edmonton landmark when it was completed in 1915. The crowning glory of Kenneth McLeod's career as a businessman and developer, this was the city's tallest building at the time, a distinction it retained for almost forty years. McLeod came to Edmonton from Ontario in 1891, and by 1913 was successful enough to be able to finance this $600,000 venture. The McLeod Block is a virtual replica of a buildng which McLeod had seen in Spokane Washington. He even hired the same man, John K. Dow, to design it. Teracotta provides detail at the windows, cornice and corners, and matching glazed brick is used as a veneer over the rest of the facade. Perhaps the most eye-catching feature of this memorable building is the cornice with its decorative row of antefixae above, and modillions and polychromed frieze below. The classical vocabulary, so successful in smaller buildings such as the Bank of Commerce, was deftly adapted to the larger scale of the highrise McLeod Block. It remains among the best of Edmonton's skyscraper designs. *** Kenneth McLeod, a former Edmonton alderman, contractor and real estate speculator, announced the construction of the MacLeod Building in 1912, claiming it would be the highest in the city, 35 feet taller than the Tegler. Construction of the 9-storey structure began in 1913 and was completed in 1915. Twelve hundred tons of steel were required, mainly because McLeod ordered footings to be 11 feet square, large enough for a fifty-storey building. It was also the first building in Edmonton to be wired with conduit. The contractors of the $600,000 building were Olsen and Johnson, and the steel contractors were McPhee and Nicodemus. The model for the McLeod building was the Polson building in Spokane, Washington. McLeod commissioned the architect, John K.Dow, to build a duplicate in Edmonton. In 1980, the structure was purchased by the Provincial Government, and designation as an historic resource is pending. The McLeod Building is regarded as Alberta's best remaining example of an architectural style for commercial buildings known as the 'Chicago School', which was developed in Chicago at the turn of the century by architects such as Louis Sullivan, Holabird and Roche, William Jenny, and Burnham and Root. *** The McLeod Building was constructed by Kenneth McLeod from 1913 to 1915. The architect was John Dow of Spokane, Washington who had designed a similar structure in Spokane known as the Polson Building. McLeod was a prominent Edmonton contractor and businessman who had resided in Edmonton for nearly 40 years and is considered to be a landmark by many Edmonton citizens. The structure is regarded as one of Alberta's finest examples of an achitectural style for commercial buildings known as the 'Chicago School'. The McLeod Building is owned by the Oxford Development Group Ltd. In January of 1980, Oxford applied for a demolition permit, but it was not granted by the City, and Oxford did not appeal this refusal. The City offered the company a density transfer or a density bonus for retaining the McLeod and the Canada Permanent Buildings, but neither offer was accepted. The Province has also negotiated with Oxford with no apparent success. The present density of the McLeod building is about 6.0:1 FAR, and the current allowable density under the Land Use Bylaw is 10.0:1 FAR. Since the McLeod Building is a large structure on a small site it could be consolidated with adjoining sites to the west, as part of a larger high-rise office complex. Retail uses in the building should capitalize on its proximity to nearby hotels. * * * MCLEOD BUILDING (1915) Chicago Style Block Was City's Tallest The McLeod Building is no longer the premier office block it once was. Its 'A' class standing is past, and so are the days when it towered over the downtown core. At one time, it and the now-demolished Tegler Building were Edmonton's largest and finest office buildings. But if it's been a few years since the nine-storey McLeod has been able to claim the title of tallest and most up-to-date building in the city, its timeless elegance will always be worthy of an appreciative look. The edifice now serves as temporary office space for arts and social organizations. If it is no longer sought by the most prestigious business clients and its stature is shrinking on the city skyline, the McLeod will remain as a solid example of one of Alberta's first skyscrapers. The building, a prime example of the Chicago Commercial Style of architecture, was saved from destruction by the city and subsequently purchased by the province for $4.8 million in 1980 when its then owner, Oxford Development Group, threatened to demolish it. The government's long-term plans call for a complete restoration of its interior, and eventual use as government offices. The structure, finished in terracotta - a type of clay tile - represented the culmination of the rise to fortune of one of Edmonton's first settlers and real estate specuators - Kenneth McLeod. The Ontario-born McLeod came here in 1891 and at one time was an alderman. He was sole owner of the McLeod until 1929, when he began divesting his holdings. He died in Vancouver in 1940. McLeod claimed it would be the largest in the city - 25 feet taller than the Tegler, built in 1911 and demolished in 1983. Until 1951 and the rise of the addition to the Hotel MacDonald with its 16 storeys, the McLeod ranked as the city's tallest structure. One of the building's tenants was A.C. Rutherford, Alberta's first premier, who had a law office in it. But because it was completed after the economic bust, it wasn't until 1924 that the McLeod was fully occupied. The interior was made of the finest wood and marble. Corridor floors were set with marble, and the office floors were laid with terrazo on concrete slabs, resembling mosaic. Italian Pavanosse marble was used in the main entrance and the wainscotting of corridor walls. Doors, doorjambs, windows, and baseboards were made from oak. The building was heated with high pressure steam and was piped for gas lighting. Because most office buildings were then populated largely by men, the building had only one washroom for women - on the fifth floor. The Edmonton Historical Board described the McLeod as Alberta's best remaining example of the Chicago school of architecture, developed in the American metropolis at the turn of the century. Chicago school features include massing, vertically, heavy overhanging cornices, the use of terracotta on exteriors, and the three-part division into ground storey, intermediate floors, and top floors with cornice. *               *                  * May 3, 2002 - was designated 2nd time.  This time - exterior roof, west and south facing terracotta facades and heritage character defining architectural and structural elements of the building's interior, as listed in Schedule "A" (see original copy).

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:
Provincial Historic Resource Municipal Historic Resource	1995/01/03 2001/05/22

Register:

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places: